Letters

Letters

February 03, 2007

Williams' recruiting must improve

Each having captured national championships, Maryland's Gary Williams and Brenda Frese are unquestionably very good basketball coaches. What separates the two, however, is Frese's tireless recruiting in an effort to attract the top players in the country.

Whereas Frese has been quite successful in selling her program to prospective candidates, Williams neither has the ability nor the desire to do so.

It is beyond belief that the Maryland men's team, national champions in 2002, has been excluded from the NCAA tournament for the past two years and is dangerously close to missing out again this year.

One can only surmise that Williams dislikes the traveling and schmoozing that go with recruiting and believes he can win with lesser players. He did it once and thinks he can get away with it again. This is absolutely the wrong approach.

There is no reason the best players in the nation shouldn't flock to College Park like they do at some of the other top programs. If Frese has the ability to draw top talent, why can't Williams?

Rabid Terps fans deserve better than Will Bowers as the only true center signed by Williams in the past five years.

Morton D. Marcus

Baltimore

Billick can't produce consistent offense

Give credit to Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome for assembling the most talented roster in the NFL. The only obstacle standing in the way of a Super Bowl is head coach Brian Billick, who in eight seasons has proved he has no clue how to maintain an even mildly consistent offense.

Just recall his embarrassing offensive performances in three nationally televised games this past season - vs. Denver, Cincinnati and Indianapolis - and sprinkle in the fact that Billick's "offense" produced no touchdowns in the Ravens' final eight quarters.

Clearly, time is running out. Perhaps a change at head coach, or at least a creative offensive coordinator with total authority to overhaul a truly ineffective offense, would be more prudent than a one-year contract extension for Billick.